Colorado Hunter magazine

Cow, 2 calves killed in Granby subdivision

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are investigating the shooting deaths of three moose killed earlier this week near Granby.
The incident took place between 8 and 10 a.m. Wednesday in an empty lot at Shadow Mountain Estates, a subdivision located on Grand County Road 6421 between Granby and Grand Lake, according to a Parks and Wildlife news release.
A witness reported to wildlife officials that he heard, while hunting near the subdivision, several shots fired in rapid succession.
Upon further investigation, the witness reported he found a cow moose and a calf dead, with a second calf dying.

Authorities from Colorado Parks and Wildlife are investigating a case of vandalism that resulted in several hundred dollars worth of damage at the Cheyenne County Shooting Range, the agency reported in a news release.
The Cheyenne County shooting range is a public facility northeast of Cheyenne Wells.
Illegal activities began several weeks ago when CPW officer Todd Marriott noticed tire tracks on the hills surrounding the range. Marriott talked to people at the range regarding safety concerns over ATVs that were driving on and off the range while it was in use, according to the release.
Marriott installed a gate to prevent vehicles from driving in unsafe areas and a sign was put up to let people know the area was closed to ATVs, the release stated.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife will host a waterfowl hunting seminar on Dec. 1 in Montrose, the agency reported in a news release.
The class will run from noon to 4:30 p.m.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife experts and the Montrose chapter of Ducks Unlimited will give instruction on all aspects of hunting waterfowl. Participants will learn about hunting tactics, use of dogs, calling, bird identification, setting decoys and more, according to the release.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission at its November meeting in Yuma last week gave final approval to fishing regulations for the 2013 fishing season, the agency reported in a news release.
Additionally, commissioners started reviewing big-game hunting regulations and received informational updates on wildlife research projects, financial issues, an agency marketing plan and the Colorado Archery in the Schools Program. Commissioners received a briefing on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Strategic Plan, which is being rewritten to fulfill requirements of legislation that merged the Colorado Division of Wildlife and Colorado State Parks last year, according to the release.
The fishing regulations for the 2013 fishing season, which begins April 1 of next year, were widely unchanged. Anglers will see new regulations extending walleye and saugeye regulations upstream of Lake Pueblo State Park, standardizing regulations below Kenny Reservoir near Rangely and allowing the take of carp at Switzer Lake in Delta County, the release stated.
Commissioners also extended a full fishing closure on Bear Creek in El Paso County. The closure is designed to protect the unique, native population of greenback cutthroat trout found in the creek, according to the release.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has cited an Arizona helicopter pilot for harassing elk near Grand Junction.
Owen Park, 35, of Page, Ariz., a pilot for Classic Lifeguard Air Medical in Page, was assessed 10 penalty points against his hunting and fishing privileges, and a $200 fine for flying his ship Sept. 23 very low over an elk herd in a canyon near the headwaters of Granite Creek, southwest of Grand Junction.
Park has paid his fine, according to a Parks and Wildlife news release.
There was not a patient onboard at the time of the incident.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife, currently proceeding with phase two of a fishery and wetland rehabilitation project at Gypsum Ponds State Wildlife Area, recently asked for public patience in a news release as the work will temporarily limit public access to the popular fishing spot.
Agency officials are asking visitors to use caution and avoid construction areas until the project has been completed, according to the news release.
Phase one of the project concluded earlier this year and increased the height of the berm around the main pond, enhancing fish habitat by making the water deeper. The elevated berm will also help prevent water encroachment from the Eagle River, the release stated.
Phase two will continue through November of this year and includes making the east pond deeper to improve fish habitat. In addition, a small pond at the south end will be filled to create a wetland environment with a goal of increasing the diversity of forage for waterfowl, according to the release.

Commission to approve final statewide fishing regulations

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission is expected to approve final annual changes to statewide fishing regulations when it meets later this week in Yuma.
The meeting, scheduled to take place beginning at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Yuma Community Center, 421 E. Second Ave., also will provide commissioners with the opportunity to consider and approve Consumer Price Index adjustments of non-resident license fees for the 2013-2014 fishing season.

Big game hunting is a tradition for a lot of Craig families, but it also comes with certain inherent risks.
And with the Elk and Mule Deer rifle seasons well under way Lt. KC Hume of the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office said now is not the time to forget the cardinal rule of hunting — be sure of your target and beyond.

Due to warm weather dominating most of the fall, hunting has not been as productive as Craig and the surrounding area is accustomed to.
According to Mike Porras, the Public Information Officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife northwest region, two seasons of hunting have been less successful than normal. Elk hunting in Parks and Wildlife’s area six, which includes Moffat, Rio Blanco and parts of Garfield and Routt Counties, has been characterized as below-average by a small margin.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers are seeking help from the public in solving a pronghorn poaching case that occurred near Lamar, the agency announced in a news release.
Wildlife officers found two pronghorn antelope Oct. 13 dumped near North 13th Street and Canal Road. Portions of the animals were missing but the meat was still present, according to the release.
Anyone who saw any suspicious activity or has information should call Colorado Parks and Wildlife Officer Kevin Mahan at 719-940-0233 or call the toll-free poaching tip line at 1-877-265-6648. Verizon cell phone users can dial #OGT, or tips can be e-mailed to game.thief@state.co.us, the release stated.

The U.S. Forest Service is waiving fees at most of its day-use recreation sites over the Veterans Day holiday weekend, Nov. 10-12, the agency announced in a news release.
The fee waivers are offered in cooperation with other federal agencies under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.
According to the release, day-use fees will be waived at all standard amenity fee sites operated by the Forest Service. Concessionaire operated day-use sites may be included in the waiver if the permit holder wishes to participate.

Pitkin County landfill manager Chris Hoofnagle is out of a job after an employee was cited for illegally hunting a bear on county property without a permit.
According to the Aspen Daily News (http://tinyurl.com/9chfhgn ), two people, including a landfill employee, were cited by state wildlife officials for illegally killing a bear without a permit at the facility last month. The two men face large fines if convicted.

As Colorado’s main hunting seasons progress, Colorado Parks and Wildlife reminds hunters that good judgment and ethical behavior are critical to ensure a safe and successful hunting experience, the agency said in a news release.
The wildlife agency said in that release over 250,000 hunters enjoy the big game seasons in the state each year, adding billions of dollars annually to the state's tourism economy. Based on the number of incidents versus the overall number of hunters, it appears that the vast majority are careful in the field.
However, officers say that even one incident of carelessness is too many, the release stated.
"We ask for 100 percent compliance," Northwest Regional Manager Ron Velarde said in the release. "Because of the serious consequences of an accident, avoiding this kind of mistake entirely should be every hunter's primary goal."

PRICE, Utah (AP) — Three Colorado men have been fined and banned from hunting in Utah after a doe and buck were killed illegally last fall.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources says Ostan Ware, Ryan Hagin and Kody Kean didn't have proper permits for either animal. Officials say the men posted pictures of the dead deer online, and left the doe to rot.
A tipster calling the state's Turn-in-a-Poacher hotline reported the incident, which wardens say happened in November about three miles away from the Colorado border in Utah's Book Cliffs.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials say two Tennessee men have been sentenced for killing a bear out of season and throwing the carcass off a cliff.
The agency said Tuesday that Harley Boss Manley, of Martin, and David Ronnie Coleman, of Union City, pleaded guilty earlier this month to killing a black bear north of Glenwood Springs just before fall bear hunting season started Sept. 1.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gun-rights groups perceive President Barack Obama as a threat to unfettered access to firearms. They once had qualms about Mitt Romney, too.
But times and circumstances have changed for Romney, the GOP presidential nominee now in tune with the National Rifle Association and similar organizations, whose members are motivated voters.
In the tight White House race, every bit of support helps, especially in the most closely contested states and particularly from groups that claim millions of members nationwide.
Romney's prior embrace of weapon-control proposals had put him crossways with the NRA and others. These days, Romney is on their good side by opposing renewal of a federal ban on semiautomatic weapons, additional regulations on gun shows and suggested federal gun registration requirements.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK (AP) — A wildfire burning on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park has prompted evacuations of a nearby campground, along with backcountry campsites and trails in the area.
No structures are threatened, and no evacuations have been ordered in the town of Estes Park to the east.
The fire was reported around 2 p.m. Tuesday about 2 miles west of the Fern Lake trailhead. It had grown to about 300 acres by 5 p.m.

lorado Parks and Wildlife officers are investigating a case of suspected poaching involving a large buck deer found near mile marker 85 on Colorado Highway 96 east of Pueblo, the agency announce in a news release.
According to the release, the head and antlers were removed.
"It looks like the deer might have been shot somewhere else and dumped along Highway 96," Quentin Springer of Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in the release.

CARBON COUNTY, Wyo. (AP) — The 20-gauge shotgun rode easily in my hands as I walked down a trail on the north slope of a tangled ravine that cradled a trickling stream.
The light was crisp with the fleeting, brief perfection of fall. The aspen leaves shimmered their best yellow and orange against the pale blue Wyoming sky. The breeze carried the tang of spruce warming in the sun.
The dog zigzagged tightly up and down the slope ahead of me. He had cut a pad badly earlier in the day but continued hunting hard without complaint. He was methodical, intent and good at his work.
Suddenly, two blue grouse broke cover close in front of me. The sound of their beating wings throbbed in the air as they pumped hard to make it across the ravine and into the safety of the dark forest.
The gun came up fast as I worked the slide to chamber a round. The barrel settled on the bird on the left.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is planning to stock several thousand large, whirling disease resistant Hofer rainbow trout into a section of the Colorado River where a large, natural fish kill occurred earlier this year, the agency reported in a news release.
Wildlife managers will begin stocking operations on Tuesday between Dotsero and the Cottonwood boat ramp.
After a heavy, monsoonal downpour last July, a large amount of silt and debris was washed into the Colorado River below Dotsero and through the Glenwood Canyon, eventually killing several thousand fish in this section, according to the news release.

(AP) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers are investigating two cases in which hunters illegally killed an elk and abandoned the carcass.
Officials say that in one case near Telluride last month, someone shot a bull elk with a rifle, removed its head and partially field dressed it. They say the elk was dragged by an all-terrain vehicle and was left in within a gated community, where it was found Sept. 28.

CANON CITY, Colo. (AP) — The public is getting time to comment on a proposal to expand the Garden Park Fossil Area north of Cañon City and designate it a national natural landmark.
The National Park Service says the existing boundaries of the 40-acre area don't include five significant dinosaur quarries, including ones where some of the most complete Stegosaurus skeletons have ever been found. Some of the first known remains of dinosaurs like Camarasaurus, Ceratosaurus and Diplodocus also have been found there.

(AP) — Environmental groups hailed the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of an appeal challenging a federal rule that bars development on 50 million acres of roadless areas in national forests, ending one of the main legal battles that had left the rule in doubt for more than a decade.
"The Supreme Court action validates arguably one of most important public land conservation polices in a generation," said Jane Danowitz, a director of the Pew Environment Group, which has worked on the rulemaking since 1998. "Without the roadless rule and its national standard of protection these millions of acres of pristine forest land could be opened to a variety of development, including logging, mining and drilling."
The justices said Monday they will leave in place a federal appeals court decision in a case brought by the state of Wyoming and the Colorado Mining Association that upheld the so-called roadless rule that took effect late in the presidency of Bill Clinton.
Wyoming and the Colorado Mining Association said closing so much forest land to development has had serious consequences for residents of Western states and the logging, mining and drilling industries.

(AP) — Drought conditions have affected waterfowl habitat on the Eastern Plains so much that hunters may have to work harder to find ducks and geese this fall and winter.
Jim Gammonley is an avian research program leader for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. He says the lack of moisture in Colorado this year may force many birds from the north to migrate elsewhere in search of better conditions.